Tag: precious

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains” (James 5:7).

In this passage, James encouraged believers to patiently wait on the Lord. The passage ends, in verse eleven, with the promise that God is coming full of compassion and mercy.
As believers, we patiently wait on the Lord. And I pray, “Lord, teach us to wait patiently upon You. Amen.”
What else does James say about patience in this text? How do we wait on the coming of the Lord?

Define Patience
Sometimes people get under my skin. Do you know what I mean? Usually the irritants are not personally attacking me, but sometimes that has happened too. While bullying occurs anywhere, the scenario plays out in our schools daily.
I remember boarding the bus one day, while in junior high school, and bearing yet another insult from a particular nemesis about my Italian heritage and parentage. I had taken all I could, so I wailed my fists against this boy’s back until he seemed to submit. I looked up to see the bus driver staring at me. Uh oh! Yet, she turned away in what I construed to be silent approval.
Even with what seemed to be an adult justification of my actions, I felt weak and unsatisfied. I wanted my fists to transform my enemy into a blithering puddle, profusely apologizing for his meanness. It didn’t work. He shut up, but it didn’t feel as good as I imagined it should.

Often, our strategies of force only frustrate us as we wait for true justice.

The Lord’s coming will bring ultimate justice to His world. How do we wait on the coming of the Lord? Before we cite patience as the primary strategy, we ought to define patience. Two common words translate as patience from Greek. One word suggests remaining under a load, endurance of a situation. Often this connotes adverse or difficult things or circumstances.
The other word suggests suffering long with regard to antagonistic persons. “Long-suffering is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish; it is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy, and is used of God, Ex. 34:6; Rom. 2:4; 1 Pet, 3:20. (Vine’s EDBW, p 377, from Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, pp. 182, 184.) James uses this second word in most of this passage.
The refusal to retaliate or to act on our latent anger should change our concept of patience. Patience is no longer a matter of simply biding our time, twiddling our thumbs. Waiting does not involve the proactive self-defense of a crusader. In true, spiritual, waiting, we absorb the pain and hurt of our interactions with others. More on that in a bit.
How do we wait on the coming of the Lord? We exercise patience through the grace of forgiveness and reconciliation.

The Farmer
So, how does the farmer show this sort of patience? Why does James offer the farmer as an example? Our familiarity with gardening may skew our interpretations. Too often we preach this text by talking about how farmers actively wait by weeding and fertilizing and watering. The problem with this approach to understanding the text, however based in reality it is, is that it does not capture the focus of the text. It’s just not what the Bible says, here!
James could easily have described active waiting in terms of the farmer’s work: weeding, tilling, fertilizing. Remarkably, James’ farmer simply waits on the early and late rains. No farmer controls the rain. He must wait on the rain, on something that he cannot manage, manipulate, or cause to be (Irrigation notwithstanding—it’s just not the point!).
If there is a “between the lines” interpretation, I see more a critique of the agriculturist who wants to know why the farmer isn’t digging wells, or canals, or building aqueducts to water his fields. To any such critique the farmer seems to be saying, “I am waiting on the rain.” It makes no sense. But that is the posture of faith—waiting on something one cannot control, waiting on God.
There is an important modifier in this verse. The farmer waits for “precious” fruit. This fruit is honored, of great value. The adjective seems a little over the top for a tomato, or potato, or a pomegranate or even for a fig! You, who have grown a big crop of corn, tell me the truth. How many ears do you shuck before you begin to think, “Enough already!”?
This fruit is valued as precious. The phrase is unique in the Bible, precious fruit. Would the farmer value it more if he’d logged many hours in cultivation? Or, does the farmer value this fruit so greatly because he understands what a gift of grace it is? Perhaps the farmer understands that by patient waiting, God has cultivated a precious fruit of faith in his own heart.
How do we wait on the coming of the Lord? We strengthen our hearts by trusting God to act. The ultimate work of justice is beyond our control. The precious fruit of grace, received by faith, is a gift.

Practice Civility
Another clue which pertains to this precious produce is James’ call for civility. James told believers not to complain or groan, expressing anger or desire against one another. This is the part we can control. We can choose to live peacefully with others. In this commitment, we will suffer long in the face of taunts and innuendo and outright assaults.
Remember, long-suffering is the very definition of patience. I did not have patience on the bus that day. James said this is an area in which we can expect judgment. “Do not complain, brethren against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door” (James 5:9).
Judgment opened that door as I saw our bus diver looking at me in disbelief. I was one of the last ones the route, so we had shared enough time to know each other. My actions probably surprised her as much as they surprised me. At first I saw her judgment as commending my righteous indignation. In reflection I wonder if her judgment was more a disappointment over my lack of control.
How do we wait on the coming of the Lord? Let’s watch our tongues and lower the rhetoric of anger and desire.

Consider the Prophets
An alternative to a face-book type one-ups-man-ship is prophetic speech. James said to take the example of the prophets. In the prophets, we find truth spoken in love. And for speaking truth, they suffered. They showed patience, at least most of the time. Regardless, they trusted in God to deliver. And, they spoke in the name of the Lord.
This is key, speaking in the name of the Lord. To speak in someone’s name suggests you know his or her mind and heart. James and John tried defending Jesus’ honor with a “Tweet” calling for the destruction of the village in Samaria, which had not received them. “But He [Jesus] turned and rebuked them, [and said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’]” (Luke 9:55-56).
Here is where we misunderstand the prophetic voice. Too often we think to be prophetic means to condemn and to judge. If we speak in the name of the Lord we ought to be certain we understand God’s heart. God cares for the salvation of souls and not their destruction, however just we might think it to be.
Even when we speak truth to injustice, God’s purpose is redemptive not retributive. This is why the prophets of old knew suffering. They waited in true, spiritual, waiting. They absorbed the pain and hurt of their interactions with others.

They were willing to speak against power while refusing to use power to be heard.

How do we wait on the coming of the Lord? We replace our self-serving language of condemnation with the language of redemption.

Patient Endurance
Up to now, James has spoken of patience, translating the word for long-suffering. In this final verse, James used the other word for patience, translated as, endured and endurance.
James called our attention to Job. Job endured affliction from circumstance and from people. He suffered long, and he remained under the load of trials. He is a good example, because Job did not endure silently. The book bearing his name is filled with his searching for answers. And the story ends with God blessing Job.
This final dealing with Job reveals the truth about God. It affirms what James said, “…that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful” (James 5:11c). I have no other reason to endure, much less to suffer long, than the power of who God is. The Lord who is full of tender mercy and compassion is coming and indeed, is already near. Immanuel! God with us!
When our tempers flare in hurtful outbursts, we are saying we do not trust God’s mercy and compassion.

Impatient rhetoric and reaction denies that the mercy and compassion of God are viable alternatives to this world of sin. But friends, either God’s character counts for something (for everything) or it doesn’t.

How then do we wait on the coming of the Lord? We remember how God meets our endurance and patience with His mercy and compassion. We remind one another of God’s grace by showing mercy and compassion to others. Amen.